


Super Secret

by Caliske_XP



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Coffee Shops, M/M, Romance, Secret Admirer, Secret Identity, Secrets, Superheroes, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-28 00:33:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15036761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caliske_XP/pseuds/Caliske_XP
Summary: When John Laurens' life gets saved by the local superhero and his celebrity crush, his world turns upside down.





	Super Secret

**Author's Note:**

> Because Hamilton and superheroes are two of my favorite things and the world can't have enough of them together. Enjoy!

It's a day like any other one when John pushes open the door to his shared apartment. His roommate, Alexander, is still out. Probably still working in the library on whatever papers his professors had burdened him with this month. They are both still studying, currently tackling their own master course in college. Alexander had chosen for a career in law, while John had chosen to follow the course in medical sciences. It would be nice if he has the chance to become a doctor after graduation. 

The two of them had met in the coffee shop where John has been working since the first year of college. He had needed the money to pay for the lousy flat he lived in and groceries. His dad had already paid for his education. It's a good deal and John doesn't mind the hours brewing coffee for people in need of some caffeine. One day that had been Alex. When handing him the cup, John had managed to trip over his own feet, spilling the beverage all over the fellow student. They had hit it right off after that, becoming best friends and moving in a better flat the second year of college. 

John sighs and drops his backpack near his bedroom door before shuffling into the kitchen to start dinner. He knows Alex will be home in time for the food to be ready. "John, this is delicious once again. You are the best." Alexander will say every time John tries putting together a new dish, making the latter try and hide the blush on his cheeks. John will never admit it out loud, but he lives for these compliments. The fact that he gets to make sure Alexander actually eats at least one meal a day and survives is just another lucky coincidence that comes with the job. 

He opens the fridge and lets his eyes roam over the items inside, only to swear under his breath when he realizes the fridge is almost empty. He had forgotten to go grocery shopping after his shift at the coffee shop ended yesterday. It had been a long day with a lot of pissed of customers and the thought of being able to fall face-down on his bed and sleep the day off had been a lot more attractive to John than the thought of going to a crowded shop. 

Pulling up his hair in a ponytail, John goes to fetch his wallet from his backpack. Nothing else to do than go grocery shopping now. He also takes his phone with him in case Alexander gets home early and wonders where he is. 

Soon John finds himself on the busy streets of New York City on his way to the small supermarket four blocks away from their apartment. He is zigzagging his way through the pedestrians when he hears his phone ding with a notification. Briefly looking at the screen, he sees a news article about the Emerald Guardian, the local superhero. John's mouth turns up in a tiny smile when he reads the man saved another citizen from certain death today,  rolling up a wanted criminal in the process also. The man can control the elemental power of air and John is pretty sure he has seen him conjure up a force field once in a low-quality video shot by a bystander. John has only seen the Emerald Guardian from afar when the hero either was hurrying to or hurrying away from the crime scene. He will have to read the entire article before he goes to bed, but for now, he pockets his phone again. 

Alexander is always teasing him about the Emerald Guardian. It's his own fault really for admitting to his roommate that the hero is his celebrity crush. He damn well knew Alex would never let it go again. Especially since Alexander has openly voiced his aversion to the local hero to all their friends and everyone who asked about it. Alex is a firm believer in the police force and fire department of the city and thinks that no one should interfere with their jobs. The first time they had had that conversation he had let it slip that nothing could top a hero who looked as good as that in a green and silver spandex bodysuit.

"What do you think his face looks like underneath the mask?" Lafayette had asked on one occasion when their friend group of four went out to the bar together, causing Alex to immediately smirk at his roommate. 

"Yes, Laurens, do tell us what he looks like in those sexual fantasies of yours."  His smirk became even wider when he had seen John's cheek flush. 

"I don't... There are no sexual fantasies, Hamilton." He forced out, looking away from the twenty-two-year-old. 

"Liar." He had immediately shot back and poked his shoulder. "I can hear the moaning, John. The walls are like paper." He rolled his eyes for effect and John's mouth fell open, gaping at him. 

"Alexander!" He had brought out betrayed, making Lafayette and Herc crack up. 

Multiple occasions like this had happened ever since then, but John doesn't let it get to him anymore. Instead, he chooses to reply sarcastically now whenever the subject is brought up. 

The bell above the door rings when John pushes it open to step into the store. He smiles at the store owner as a greeting and takes a basket. He shops slowly and takes only what they really need. In the end, he also decides to take some snacks for a movie night soon. Perhaps he and Alex could watch The Little Mermaid again. Disney classics are always a good idea. John smiles fondly at the idea. 

There are only three people in front of him at the cash register when his phone beeps again with a text notification. John's smile widens when he sees Alexander's name on the screen. 

 _'Where are you and when will you be home?'_ The text reads with impeccable spelling. John grins, knowing that Alex is worried because John always beats him home on days he doesn't have to work. He types out his response. 

_'At store. B home soon.'_

Before he has time to pocket his phone again, a scream reverberates through the store. John snaps his head up in time to see three men with guns walking in. A black mask hides their faces but leaves room for their eyes.  

"Hands up! Get on the floor!" The larger one of them shouts while pointing his gun at the lady in front of John. Panic is clear on her face when she hurries to lay down on the floor with her hands in clear sight. She is muttering quietly and pleads for him to not hurt her. The man turns to the store owner satisfied and shouts at him to get them all the money while the woman starts praying. 

John feels fear and anger settle low in his stomach when he looks at the situation. He has never seen anything like this before, let alone be in the middle of it. He notices that one of the men took post at the door as a guard. The last man he finds when he turns around and is met with a gun pointed at his face. 

"Were we not clear? Get on the floor now!" He shouts in John's face. The student slowly holds up his hands, phone still clutched in his left one, to show that he doesn't mean any harm. That was the wrong move. When the criminal's eyes focus on the phone, John can see the fire light up in his pupils. 

"Don't you dare try anything stupid!" The man shouts again and with the back of the gun, he slams John's phone out of his hand. His fingers get the full blast of the hit and he groans in pain as the phone falls to the floor. "On the ground!" 

"What the fuck, man?" John growls, the anger winning of the fear now. He is vaguely aware that all the commotion he is causing is now also attracting the attention of the other thieves in the store. 

"Last warning, boy. On the floor." The robber in front of him hisses again, but before he can finish his sentence, John has dropped his basket and swings his good fist at the man. He hits him square in the jaw and watches as the man stumbles back a few steps. He is ready to throw another punch, but the man is faster. The thief hits John on the head with the back of his gun as hard as he can manage. Pain explodes from the spot where he got hit, making John see stars. He is pretty sure he is bleeding too when he feels liquid stream down his face. He had been hit right above his eye left.

"Shoot him!" John senses the danger for him in the command the thief behind him yelled and whirls around when he hears a gun cock behind him. Through his haze, he can see the barrel of the gun being pointed at him. He is going to die if he doesn't do anything right now. But before he has time to react, the sound of a gunshot goes through the store. 

Then there is a flash of green and silver and John is pushed out of the way in the blink of an eye. He gets thrown into a shelf with canned soup, hitting the shelf hard and sliding onto the floor as cans rain down all around him. When he looks up, John is met with the Emerald Guardian with a force field as a shield in front of him. The bullet that was just fired at John is laying in front of him. Without losing time, the superhero drops the shield and launches himself at the man who tried to shoot him. 

John has to close his eyes against the dizziness that is starting to overwhelm him. His vision has gone blurry. First, the blow against his head and then being thrown around hadn't really done him any good. The wound is still bleeding, but John can also feel the wind moving around in the shop, blowing a few of his stray curls in his face, no doubt getting them covered in blood too. 

He trusts the Emerald Guardian to take care of the criminals while he gets his act together. The sounds of the fight he blocks out as the ringing in his ears gets louder. John is trying to calm himself down by letting his thoughts roam over the things he needs to do. 

Alexander. It's the first thought that pops up in his head. He should let Alex know that he is okay, but needs a doctor first. Medical care. Another thing he needs to find soon. The wound on his head will probably need stitches and he probably has a concussion. This is not the first fight John has been in. This is not his first concussion either, though it feels worse than his first one. His medical knowledge allows him to relax. It's probably a mild concussion. He has nothing to worry about, he just needs to rest. 

John is shocked back to reality when a hand softly takes a grip on his shoulder. Slowly, he opens his eyes. He is still dizzy and his vision is still a bit blurry, but he recognizes the emerald and silver mask in front of him. 

"Are you okay?" The hero asks him softly. His voice is low and formal. It has a robotic tone to it too. 

"Is that a voice changer?" John asks dumbly and watches the hero's mouth moves into a smile underneath his mask. He lets out a chuckle too. 

"Yes, it is. Don't want anyone finding out my identity now, do I?" The man gently moves his hand from John's shoulder to cup his cheek. He tilts up his head slowly and gently rubs the blood away with his thumb. 

John lets his lips part and a gasp of air escapes when he looks at the hero who must be inspecting his wound. He can't even see his eyes but still. John wonders if he is flustered because of his crush's proximity or if he is pale because of his injury. 

"I should bring you to a hospital. You need to get this checked out." 

John is brought back to reality. He nods in agreement but winces when his heart starts aching at the movement. "I just... I need my phone. My roommate..." He looks around for his phone and sees it a few feet away from him, scattered into pieces. Then he notices the unconscious criminals in the middle of the chaos in the store and frowns. "Shit. I need to let Alexander know I'm okay. That I'll be going to the hospital." He looks at the hero desperately. 

"I'll tell you what," The hero says. "I'll get you to the hospital so you can get medical attention first, and then I'll make sure that you can use someone's phone to call him, okay?" 

John hesitates. "Don't you have places to be?" He wonders, letting his eyes slide over the suit the Emerald Guardian is wearing. 

"No, I want to make sure you are safe first." 

John feels his cheeks heat up again as his hero speaks those words. His eyes flick back up to the mask as he wonders if the man is staring into his eyes now. "Okay." He says. The hand disappears from his face as the hero gets up again. John follows suit but widens his eyes and yelps when a wave of dizziness sends him falling forward. 

Two strong arms wrap themselves around his waist before he can fall and when he looks up he is once again met with the sight of the hero's mask only inches away from his face. 

"Good thing I stayed, huh?" 

John can practically hear the smirk in his voice, but he doesn't reply as he has to clench his eyes shut when the ringing in his ears comes back. He feels like shit. 

Before he knows it, the Emerald Guardian has hosted him up in his arms bridal style. He carries John outside carefully. John hears him ask if the store owner will be able to handle it from here and the mumbled reply that follows it before he feels the fresh air on his skin. There must have been a crowd forming also because, in the background, John believes he can hear people talking hushed. 

"Keep your eyes closed, okay? I'm going to use air manipulation to travel to the hospital faster. Try to keep breathing." The robotic voice near his ear makes John focus again.

He nods slowly and keeps his eyes shut. It's not long before the wind blows him in the face strongly. He can't breathe at first when the air hits him square in the face. It's like he forgot how to, making him gasp for air desperately. On instinct, he turns away from the impact of the wind and buries his face into the superhero's chest. He stays like that for the rest of the short trip to the hospital, realizing how close he is to him. 

When they arrive, he puts John down on the bed in the room the nurses pointed them too. They immediately start cleaning the blood as the superhero stands back and disappears from the room. John watches him disappear and sighs. He doesn't even know what to think of the whole rescue. Instead, he decides to let the nurses do the thinking for now and relaxes against the pillow. 

"Sir?" One catches his attention. "The wound above your eye needs stitches. You are suffering a mild concussion too, but nothing you should worry about." He nods dumbly and allows them to stitch up the wound gently. It's just as he had thought then. Nothing too bad. 

It's only when the nurses leave John notices the Emerald Guardian leaning against the doorway of his room. John smiles, a bit surprised. He would have thought the hero would have left a while ago to fight crime again. 

"How are you feeling?" The robotic voice greets him once again as the hero walks closer to John, who is glad they hadn't hooked him up to a heart monitor as his heart speeds up. 

"As good as could be expected from suffering a concussion, I guess." He answers, looking at the man's arms as he leans on the bed. "I thought you left?" John lets the words slip and he realizes how whiny he sounded. He grimaces at his own actions. 

"Nah, I couldn't leave you without checking up on you." The hero tells him. "Besides, I made you a promise, didn't I? So here." 

He hands John a phone. "You will have to give it back to the nurse I borrowed it from when you leave, but at least now you can call your boyfriend to let him know you are okay." 

John sputters when he hears his words. His face goes red once again. "Alexander is not my boyfriend." He tells him softly, looking down. "He is my best friend and roommate. He ignored the flirting, so I stopped..." He snaps his mouth shut. He doesn't need to talk about this with strangers. John fiddles with the phone in his hands, not daring to look up. 

"Hey." The gloved hand is back on his cheek and gently making him look up at the superhero again. The gentle touch of the digit running over his cheekbone sends shivers down his spine and he almost gasps when the man's thumb rubs over his bottom lip. "His loss." 

As sudden as it came, the touch disappears again. 

"Call him. I have to go again, I am afraid." 

John nods. "Thank you." He whispers before he watches the Emerald Guardian leave his hospital room. 

~*~

"Laurens!" 

The door to his room bangs against the wall as the guests enter. John groans and lifts the blankets over his head in a futile attempt to hide from his friends. 

"John. You have some explaining to do, mon ami." Lafayette drops himself on John's bed with such force that John bounces on the mattress. 

"Laf, cut him some slack. The man has a concussion." Hercules' voice drifts into the room too and soon after, John feels the bed dip on his other side too. "Though I must say I am curious too now." 

Slowly, John pokes his head out from under the blankets, glaring at Lafayette. He has been sleeping since he arrived home from the hospital yesterday evening after he called Alex. 

The man had panicked when John called him about what happened. It took him only a few minutes to arrive at the hospital and demand what had happened. He all but dragged a nurse in to discuss his situation. All she had told him was that John needed 72 hours of rest. After that, he should be fine. 

Alexander had taken him home soon after, rambling about how uncareful John had been. John had told him the entire story at that point. Some details he kept to himself, but Alexander knows everything he should know. As soon as his head had rested on the pillow, John had been out like a light, sleeping till Lafayette had so rudely interrupted his sleep. 

"What?" He mumbles intelligently and looks at Herc for an explanation. Out of the two of them, he is the more reasonable one to talk to in a situation like this. He ignores the sting near his eyebrow when he pulls up an eyebrow. 

"We heard what happened yesterday. We wanted to know how you are holding up." Hercules says softly, a gentle smile on his face. 

Lafayette clicks his tongue impatiently. "And we want you to explain this." 

A phone is pressed into his face. Once his eyes focus, John realizes he is staring at a picture in a newspaper article. It seems to be taken outside the shop yesterday evening and features himself, in the arms of the Emerald Guardian. 

He gasps. He should have known people would be taking pictures of that. He had vaguely registered a crowd had formed around the store, but never really paid attention to it. 

With a huff, he pushes the phone away from his face. "He saved my life and brought me to the hospital. End of story." 

Lafayette groans next to him. "No, John. Details. Did he talk to you? What does his voice sound like? Did he say anything? Do you know who he is? Does he smell nice?" 

Hercules crosses his arms over his chest in jealousy, but Lafayette doesn't pay attention to him as he waits for John to answer him. However, he does offer his boyfriend his hand, which Hercules gingerly takes. 

"Uhm... He uses a voice changer device." He brings out. "And I don't know what he smelled like, Laf. I was too busy not passing out." 

His French friend grins at him. "At least you got to meet your celebrity crush. It looks so romantic." He sighs dramatically. 

"He wasn't there long, but he was very nice." John starts going over the details of last night a bit more detailed for his friends, smiling at the memory of it all. From the corner of his eyes, he sees Alexander, who was leaning against the doorpost, frowning and leaving silently when John keeps filling in the couple with details about the hero. 

~*~

After the three days of complete rest, John picks up his life again as if nothing happened. He follows his classes, studies in his free time and goes to work whenever his shifts start. 

It took a week for the whole incident to be forgotten. At first, when he got back in class, his fellow students recognized him from the article online. It happened on more than one occasion that men and women alike came to ask him what the superhero is actually like. He had answered them all as honest as he could and left it at that. 

The Emerald Guardian has been back to saving the city and John has finally accepted the fact that he will never see him again. The encounter had been nice, but a one-time thing. Maybe even the one-time thing he needed to get a grip on reality and realize that he needs to find a real boyfriend instead of indulging in a fictional relationship with a superhero. 

"Alexander?" John calls out when he arrives home late one night after his shift in the coffee shop. "I'm sorry I'm late, but Ben totally screwed up the machine and I had to fix it before leaving." He walks into the kitchen where Alex is staring at him. 

"That's fine." He tells him thoughtlessly as his eyes turn back to the envelope in his hand. John hadn't noticed it before, even though Alexander had been fiddling with it in his hands. The troubled tone in his voice made John frown cautiously.

John walks closer curiously. "What is that?" He asks, pointing at the piece of paper in his roommate's hands. When Alexander flips it over, John can see his name on the front of the letter in beautiful calligraphy. 

"I don't know. It was on the table when I arrived. I believe it is for you." He hands over the letter to John worriedly. "It doesn't have a return address, there is no stamp and I have no clue how it ended up on our table, John. What if it is something bad?" 

John raises an eyebrow. "Let me just see what it is first before you work yourself up." He mutters and opens the envelope carefully. He doesn't want to rip it. 

Inside is another piece of neatly folded paper. The letter is not even a page long, typed out entirely and addressed to him. 

_My dearest Laurens_

_It took me a while to figure out your name. Admittedly, it was stupid of me not to ask for it when we shared that intimate moment in the hospital room I left you in._

_Now, it is in my best interests I send you this letter. I do not wish to alarm you by having this letter appear in your apartment without any explanation. I did take the liberty to enter your home but do not worry. I only placed this letter on the kitchen table and left. It is not in my best behavior to snoop around or steal. I have an image as hero to maintain after all._

_It pained me to leave you like that in the hospital. Frankly, you are the most perfect human being I have ever seen and I long to see you again. You, John Laurens, have captured my interests and I have been finding myself distracted by thoughts of you. I wish I could have felt your skin that night underneath my palm._

_I also hope you understand why we cannot meet again. My identity and family are at stake and I cannot risk their safety for my own selfish reasons. I cannot put you in danger, dear John._

_For this, I bid you adieu._

_yours_

_Emerald Guardian._

John's heart is fluttering in his chest when he finished the letter. He is sure his entire face is red and he can't help the massive smile that is spreading on his face. 

John almost can't believe it. The Emerald Guardian is still thinking about him. He feels the same way about that night in the hospital. John feels his insides fill with joy at the realization and the letter he is still holding in his hand. 

"Oh, for God's sake." Alexander's voice snaps him out of his own thoughts. In the blink of an eye, the man has ripped the letter out of his hand and walked off to read it on his own. 

"Hey!" John yells defensively and immediately runs after his friend to try and get the letter back. It's no use. Alexander soon realizes what kind of letter it is and who must have written it. He stills his movements. 

This allows John to finally snatch back the letter and to put it back in the envelope carefully. "What were you thinking?" He asks him sternly. "That letter was not meant for you." John accuses him. 

"Maybe not, but I am glad I did take it." Alexander is standing in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest and an unhappy scowl on his face. "What are you gonna do about that?" He looks in the direction of the letter shortly before looking straight into his eyes. 

John blinks confusedly. "What do you mean, what am I gonna do about it?" 

"Well, that clearly is a love letter, John." 

"Thank you, captain obvious. There isn't anything I can do, now is there?" John asks, looking down in disappointment at the realization. 

"But you want to do something about it." It's not a question. Alex is smart enough to have figured out that something must have happened between the two. John's crush is now reciprocated. 

"So what if I want to. I don't know him. I can't do anything." John snaps at him in frustration. 

Alexander shakes his head. "You better not try anything. I don't deem it above you to leave letters for him or seek out danger just to see you again." 

John's expression at his words must have shown on his face because it only takes a second for his roommate to start ranting about why that is not a good idea. 

"No, John. You have to stay away from him. You almost got killed once and I can't bear to lose you if it happens again! You won't put yourself in danger for a stranger who happened to be a superhero." Alex's voice is rising and John feels anger spark in his chest too. 

"You don't get to choose how I lead my life, Hamilton." He sneers and points his finger at his chest. "The guy is a hero, not a villain. I'm sure he is safe to be with. As you said, he already saved me once." 

"You don't even know who he is, John! What if he is an old man? What if he is only pretending to be nice?" 

John sees red. He clenches his fists at his side and stomps past Alexander into his bedroom, slamming the door shut and locking it. A clear indication that he is done talking to him. 

~*~

He had taken up Alexander's advice, even though it wasn't meant to be advice. John had been leaving letters on his bedroom windowsill with a rock on top of them so they won't fly away. He writes his feelings for the superhero in them, how they can make it work if they tried. Every day the letters disappear, but never once is there a reply. John isn't sure if the Emerald Guardian even gets the letters. 

After two weeks of not getting a response, John had given up. The Emerald Guardian has clearly made his decision and John will respect that. 

He does know for sure that the first letter had not been a prank by someone. Only five people know what really happened in the hospital. Only two of them have a key to the apartment and John is sure that Alexander would never do anything like that to him. 

Alexander had apologized to John soon after the incident with the love letter. They never can stay mad at each other for long. Though, John has opted not to tell him about the letters he has been writing. Instead, they have been having a weekly movie night in which they curl up together on the couch with popcorn, a Disney classic playing on the television. 

Now, three weeks after giving up writing letters, John slings his backpack over his shoulder and leaves to class. He feels empty. It was cruel of the Emerald Guardian to leave him like that, but he will get over it. It is the second person who had turned him down, though and that hurts. Alexander had been the first. About a year ago, John had started flirting with him. Alexander started to act distant immediately and John had made the connection.  It will be a long day today with the evening shift in the coffee shop. A perfect day for trying to forget.

It's on his way to his first class he sees the flashing lights of police cars in the distance. Glancing at his clock, John decides to go see what is happening out of concern for the victims. Or that is what he tells himself. He is skipping class for this after all. 

When he arrives, a crowd of spectators has already formed. John stands on his tip-toes to try and get a glance at the scene. Instead, his eyes lock on the superhero stepping out of the building. The butterflies in his stomach flare up at the sight of the green and silver spandex and John silently curses himself for feeling this way. 

The Emerald Guardian doesn't waste time with crowds or journalists. He has never spoken to the press before and John sees him getting ready to take off, so before he can stop himself, he finds himself calling out to him. 

"Hey!" The murmurs of the crowd go silent and they all turn to look at him. Immediately he feels shy. John always hated getting all the attention in crowds. 

But he got what he wanted in the end because when he looks back at the Emerald Guardian, he can see he has the superhero's attention now too. 

John wishes he could see the expression on the man's face. It's hard to calculate his reaction when he still has his mask on. What if he gets angry with John trying to stalk him? What if he feels disgusted by the student?

He immediately casts his eyes down. He swears to himself for doing something so stupid and starts turning away from the scene to leave. Class must have started already, but there is still the option to hide in his room. 

John turns on his feet and sets a few hurried steps away from the crime scene before bumping into someone. He gasps and starts apologizing quickly, looking up, but when his eyes lock on the superhero's mask, he falters. 

"Oh." 

The hero chuckles amused. "We meet again, John Laurens." The same robotic voice fills his ears and John can't help but smile. 

"I got your letter." He starts eloquently. 

The hero nods. "I hoped so." There are a few seconds of silence. "I got yours too." 

John frowns. "You did?" He asks and watches as the hero nods.

 "Every single one of them for two weeks." 

"And you never answered." The frown is still on his face. "Why?" He has to know. 

The hero sighs. "I explained to you why. My identity. The people I care about will be in danger when I am discovered. People hate me for what I do." 

John opens his mouth to speak, but is distracted by a camera flash. When he looks to his side, he can see that the entire crowd has moved in a circle around them and are now recording the conversation. He grimaces at the thought of being in the paper again. 

"Perhaps we should not do this here." The Emerald Guardian speaks and offers John his hand. "Care to fly with me again?" 

John quickly takes his hand and nods. The hero wraps John's arms around his neck and places his own arms around the student's waist. John remembers the pressure of the wind in his face and hides his face in the hero's neck this time before they even leave. He closes his eyes too because he is not so keen on heights. 

Not long after, John feels the ground disappear underneath his feet. He clings to the hero tighter and takes a deep breath. The wind rushes past the two of them and when he opens his eyes for a second he can see the ground already far beneath them. John quickly closes them again. 

"You can open your eyes now." The Emerald Guardian speaks and John feels solid ground under his feet again. 

"Thank God." He says and opens his eyes. The superhero steps away from him and John takes in his surroundings. 

They are on top of the roof of a skyscraper, looking out over New York City. John gasps as he sees the view and smiles. 

"Come sit with me." The robotic voice says and John turns to look at where the hero is seated on the roof. He walks to him and sits down next to him. John looks at him sadly. 

"I don't have to know your identity." He says slowly. "And you don't have to worry about me being in danger. People have caught me with you twice now. If they target someone it's going to be me. So that doesn't matter anymore." He argues. 

It's silent for a while. The wind ruffles through John's hair, messing it up. He slowly lets down his hair. Only then the hero turns to him and speaks. "Do you trust me?" 

John nods. "I trust you." He whispers. 

"Close your eyes." 

John sits silently as he closes his eyes. He hears the rustle of fabric and soon he feels two gloved hands cup his cheeks. Then there is the pressure of lips against his own. He immediately starts moving his lips against the other man's lips in a slow kiss. The butterflies in his stomach are going wild as he brings up his arms and wraps them around the hero's neck to pull him closer. 

The kiss tastes like coffee and honestly, it's the best feeling John has ever had. Eventually, the Emerald Guardian pulls away from John, keeping one hand on the student's cheek, sliding it down to rest on his hip. There is the rustle of fabric again and soon he tells John to open his eyes. 

John is smiling happily. His eyes focus on the mask once again and his smile widens. "Does this mean we are going to give us a chance?" He whispers. 

The hero pulls John closer so they are sitting against each other. "Yes, it does." He tells him and wraps his arm around the student. 

They sit cuddled together for almost an hour before John picks up a dull voice. It almost sounds like a radio. 

"I'm on my way." The Emerald Guardian speaks up. The radio voice speaks once again before the hero stands up and looks at John. "I have to go. There is more crime going on." He explains and takes John's hand, pulling him up. 

"Wait..." John starts curiously. "You don't work alone?" This is brand new information. 

The hero sighs. "John. Please don't ask questions about this? You said you didn't want to know anything about my identity." He almost sounds desperate to John. "I'll take you home."

John agrees silently and lets the hero fly him home safely. 

~*~

And so John's relationship with a superhero began. Alexander was not happy about it once he found out about it. John decided to tell him himself before he found out through the internet. That hadn't stopped his best friend from angrily summing up all the bad things about it. 

Of course John's mind is blaring an alarm somewhere, warning him how wrong it is to start dating a person he doesn't even know the identity of, but he dismisses it. The feeling of new romance is keeping him from seeing the bad stuff. He keeps up his school work and his shifts at the coffee shop, so he doesn't see why having a relationship with the Emerald Guardian has to be something bad. 

In the end, Alexander had accepted it, but he tends to avoid the subject whenever he is with John. Lafayette is a whole other story entirely. 

When John had told him and Hercules about his boyfriend, Lafayette had been so excited. He had asked for all the details. They are excited for him. 

In the few months they have been together, John and his hero had communicated through notes left on his windowsill. Sometimes even at work or in other places John has to be during the day. They leave John feeling giddy. Like he has a secret admirer and John is a high school girl with a crush, trying to figure out who it is leaving him the sweet notes. 

They will always tell him how beautiful he is. They will compare his freckles with constellations of stars, his eyes with the galaxy and John keeps every single one of them. In return, he writes about his thoughts about the hero. His muscles, the way he fights crime, but also about how caring he is when he is with John. 

The notes are their way of texting. John had asked for his phone number once, but the hero had refused him, once again reminding John of his promise not to ask any questions that could lead the student to figure out his identity. 

So John had left it at that. The identity is starting to bother him though. John has told his boyfriend everything about himself, but he never gets anything in return. Surely, the hero must be on his way to trusting John by now. They have been together for a while now. John always dismisses the matter with a sigh. 

It is often the Emerald Guardian takes the both of them to the rooftop they first kissed on. It's their way of dating in privacy. Well, as far as privacy goes. John has figured out on his own that his boyfriend must have a radio transmitter in his suit. He can hear the radio voice comment on some of the things they do together, but the hero acts as if he can't hear it. John does the same. There was one time the hero let it slip that there is a third person on his team also. The one who keeps improving his suit. His hero doesn't work alone and they will never have complete privacy, but that is okay. They never were a normal couple, but that is a sacrifice John is willing to make. 

John is asleep when it happens. It's the middle of the night when he is woken up when his bedroom window shatters in tiny pieces. 

The student bolts upright in his bed and flicks the lights on in panic. The sight in front of him horrifies him. Between the pieces of broken glass, his hero is laying on the floor. His suit is ripped in several places and he is bleeding badly. 

"Emerald?" He asks unsure as he watches the hero pant and groan in pain. 

"John. I-Ah! I need your help." His voice sounds more human and John registers in the back of his mind that his voice changer device must not have been functioning well anymore. John quickly pulls on his sneakers and hurries to the hero's side. 

"What happened?" He lets the man lean on him as he brings him to the living room. He lays the man on the couch and looks over him. There are cuts all over his body. There is a bullet wound in his shoulder. John gasps at the discovery and gets his medical kit. "You have to go to the hospital!" He says with urgency. "I'm don't have the materials for this." 

"No." The Emerald Guardian croaks out and grabs John's wrist once the student sits down next to him on the floor again, first aid kit in his hand. "They can't know, John. I trust you to do this. I trust you." 

John looks at the mask again. He can see part of the man's face where the fabric has ripped, but the skin is covered in blood and wounds. 

John makes his decision. "I will have to take off your suit." He tells him sternly. 

"I was afraid that was the case." 

John nods and goes to grab the scissors. "Alex!" He shouts for his roommate, knowing the man is a light sleeper and will come soon. "Alex! I need your help in here!" 

He soon returns to the hero's side. He has taken off his gloves himself and stops John when he places the scissors at the suit, ready to cut. 

"Wait." He says softly. John looks at him and frowns. 

"Your wounds aren't deadly, but they will be if I don't get started soon," John explains, then looks up. "Alexander!" He yells again annoyed. Where is he? 

"Darling." The Emerald Guardian speaks again, catching John's attention with the sweet nickname he always uses for his boyfriend. "Please. I want you to know that my feelings for you are real, okay. No matter what happens in a minute." He sounds so desperate. 

John frowns, realizing this is about his identity. "Baby..." He slowly takes his hand and squeezes it. He feels his skin for the first time. "I don't care who you are. I promise nothing has to change. I love you." 

The hero smiles sadly underneath his mask, John can see the movement of his lips. "I love you too. Always remember that." His heart flutters in his chest when his hero returns the words to him. 

"I promise," John whispers and then starts cutting away the fabric of the suit. He is careful not to touch any of the wounds. Soon the body of the suit is on the floor and John can see how bad the damage really is. 

"I have to clean the bullet wound first." He tells his boyfriend gently and looks at the wound. He can see the bullet in the wound and hums. It's not anywhere near any important parts so just removing it will be fine. 

He tries to block out all the pained noises the hero makes underneath his mask as he does his job. First he cleans the wound with alcohol. The half empty bottle of whiskey he found in a cupboard has to do for now. Then he takes out the bullet carefully and cleans the wound again. John can't imagine how much this must hurt and he is amazed by the durability of the superhero. Perhaps it has something to do with his superpowers. Soon he is finishing stitching the wound. 

"It will scar," John tells him and cuts off the thread. "And you will need to rest for a while. I will clean up the rest of the cuts now." 

John gets to work again, cleaning up the cuts, stitching up the ones that are too deep and getting the glass out of his boyfriend's hands. Then he looks up at him. "I'll have to remove your mask now." 

The hero nods. They both knew this was coming. John picks up the scissors again and starts cutting through the fabric of the mask. John notices his hands are shaking slightly.

He peels the mask off the man's face and John finds himself staring into familiar brown eyes. He gasps as he lets his eyes trail over the same nose he has seen so many times before, the same mouth, facial hair... the same long dark hair. 

"Alexander?" 

It's nothing more than a whisper, but it sounds so loud in the silent room. 

John gets up and shock and turns away from him. 

"John, wait. I can explain." Alexander speaks up desperately, making John huff. He grabs the bottle of whiskey from the table and tags a large gulp before crouching down beside the hurt man again. 

"Hush, I have to clean up your face." He growls and all but pours the whiskey directly over his face. He then takes the wad of cotton wool and starts dabbing on the cuts a little too hard. 

Alexander stays wisely quiet as John takes care of the cuts and gathers his thoughts as he does so. It actually all makes sense now he thinks about it. The way Alexander is never home, but John had never found him in the library either. The way he seems to disappear from time to time. 

"Why the hell would you be so angry about me dating the Emerald Guardian while you are him?" He asks. "Why be so against the superhero if you are him?" That's the part he doesn't understand. He pulls the cotton wool away from his roommate's face and stares into his eyes. 

Alexander hums. "Being against him would steer people away from thinking I am him." He says. "As for the last part... I didn't quite understand why I did that. But I kept feeling jealous about you talking like that about the Emerald Guardian like that. Your crush on him, the way your eyes would light up when you talked about him like that." 

John raises his eyebrow as Alex keeps rambling. 

"I wish you would talk about me like that, but I thought I would have a bigger shot as my alter ego so I went with that." He reaches for John's hand, smiling lopsidedly as he doesn't pull away but instead intertwines their fingers together. 

John understands now, why Alex had looked so troubled before handing him the love letter. He knew he would be making John fall for his other identity.

"You big idiot, Alexander. I told you in the hospital about the flirting. You knew I flirted with you before. I just... I never thought I had a shot with you." 

The hero sighs. "I didn't... Notice." He admits. "I'm a little bit stupid when it comes to things like that." 

John nods and a silence settles between the two of them. 

"John?" Alexander's voice breaks the silence. "Are we still together after this? Are you still my boyfriend?" His voice cracks a bit at the end and John can feel Alex's fear. 

"Well, do you trust me?" John asks with a tiny smile. 

Alexander nods and looks at John in confusion. 

"Close your eyes then." And as soon as Alexander's eyes are closed, John cups his cheeks carefully and presses his lips to his boyfriend. He can feel Alexander's smile on his lips and pulls away soon. 

"You should rest." He tells him. "It's the middle of the night and you were shot." John looks at him sternly. "We will have to talk about that in the morning." 

Alexander groans. "Do we have to?" He asks, letting John help him up and move him to his bedroom. 

"You could have died, Alexander. Of course we have to." John shoots back and puts him on the bed slowly. "Try to sleep now. I'll go clean up quickly and join you after, okay?" He places a kiss on his boyfriend's forehead before leaving his room and closing the door.

John is almost finished cleaning up the mess next to his first aid kit when the front door to the apartment opens. He looks up surprised when Lafayette and Hercules sneak in. 

"Guys?" He asks confused. 

They both stop frozen as they see they got caught. 

"What are you doing here?" John speaks up again. He sees Lafayette pull a face to Hercules before answering. 

"We came to, uh. Merde. To borrow your flour? We were baking a cake." Lafayette smiles nervously and Hercules starts chuckling. 

"Sweetheart, look." He points at what is left of Alex's suit, which John is holding in his hands. "I think he knows." 

John groans. "I should have known. Tailor in training and the master of gossip. Of course you two were helping him." 

Lafayette frowns. "We wanted to know how he is." He says. "We heard gunshots and his call of distress... The tech in his suit broke. We only had the transmitter to tell him where his suit went. Is he okay?" 

John smiles at the concern of their friends and nods. "He got shot in the shoulder and got a few cuts, but he is safe. He is resting now. Why don't you two take Alexander's room for now? It's late. We can all talk in the morning." 

Hercules nods and says goodnight to John. He takes Lafayette to the spare bedroom and closes the door. John hums when he puts the medical kit away and places the torn up suit on the kitchen counter. 

When he enters his room again, he hears the quiet snores from his boyfriend. John strips down to his boxers and gets in bed with Alexander. Slowly he wraps his arms around the other man, who immediately cuddles closer to him. John smiles and lets happiness wash over him when he slowly falls asleep. 


End file.
